War against the machine
by Frickish
Summary: Keronin the Aipom is disatistfied with the way his current life is playing. When a strange Pokemon informs him of what the rulers of his world could do to him, and the rest of his flawed community,he must choose whether to fight or stay in oblivion.
1. Chapter 1

Keronin got out of his bed with a start. Another bad dream. The Aipom got out of bed slowly, rubbing his grey eyes and looking out of the window that was next to his bed. The window was open, as Keronin had problems breathing at night. The doctors said that it was due to the toxic atmosphere around him, but Keronin had no choice but to live in the polluted city known as Scaron. Keronin's room was a brown, drab box. The bed was ruffled slightly, with four squashed pillows on the floor, and a mirror that was covered with a strange brown substance.

Keronin looked in the mirror. A tired purple head looked back at him, with a tan face and a frown that never really left it. Keronin was quite tall for his young age, but also was a little bit fat, a strange bulge forming out of his purple stomach. His hands were thin and stubby, as most Aipom's were, leaving him unable to pick up objects with them. His legs were thin and long, almost seeming as if the Aipom would buckle under the weight. And finally, the most interesting thing about the Aipom species in general, Keronin had a long purple tail with a three fingered hand on the end.

Keronin flexed his three fingered appendage, and walked out of the small room, to the last room of his one floored house. This room was a kitchen, bathroom and living room rolled into one. In the right corner of the room was a small grey fridge which was making an odd humming noise (Keronin always forgot to get that checked out), an oven that was covered in grime and had a pile of dirty dishes on one of the hobs, and a simple three legged stool in which Keronin ate his meals. Keronin walked towards the fridge, scratching himself as his three fingered hand carefully picked up an egg. He looked at the pans depressively, not having the heart to clean them up, and stuffed the egg in his mouth. Despite the fact that it was raw, and probably teaming with bacteria, Keronin swallowed the egg after chewing it for a few minutes. He looked over at the clock on the oven. 10:30. With a sigh, Keronin walked out of his house, returning again to find his keys, and then walked out of the floor his house was at.

The carpet was sticky, again. Keronin sighed as he tried to get the strange coloured gloop off of his naked tan foot. It didn't sting or anything, but it was still disgusting. He passed a Rattata as he walked. Greeting the little purple rat, Keronin turned to walk away from the strange, scabby looking creature, but for some reason the rat wanted to talk to him.

"There's not enough time!" The Rattata said, wriggling his curled up tail. "You've got to listen to me!"

"What is it?" Keronin sighed, walking towards the elevator. Yet again, he accidently stepped in some gloop on the floor, causing him to cry out in frustration.

"You just have to get out of here!" The Rattata yelled, grabbing at the Aipom's shoulder's in desperation. "They'll chip us all next…you know where science is going!"

"Chip?" Keronin sighed, pushing the button the call the elevator. The Aipom looked over to the Rattata properly. The rat was slightly smaller than him, though thanks to growth formulas Pokemon all grew the same size. That is, except for the legendaries, a group of Pokemon who lived of growth formulas and used their size to claim superiority over everyone else. The rat had red eyes that looked around in a paranoid manner. The whiskers of the Pokemon were bent out of shape, looking a little like lightning blots. The fur of the rat was scruffy and covered with more gloop than the carpet. At that moment, Keronin summed it all up; this Rattata was another of the crazies.

"Oh yeah!" The Rattata said, "But...we're gonna stop the chips from being made! We have a legendary at our side!"

"You've got to be kidding me." Keronin rolled his eyes, knowing at this point the Rattata was defiantly out of their little mind.

"I knew you'd say that." The Rattata wagged their tail. "Look, I have the documents back at my apartment…if you'd have the time to…"

DING. Finally, the elevator door opened. "Sorry, I have to go." Keronin smirked, "I have to live through this thing called the real world, I'm afraid." The Rattata sighed as the Aipom walked into the elevator door, shaking their head as the doors closed.

"You'll be eating those words, mister." The rat sighed, before the doors completely shut them out of sight.

"Another day at work, eh Keronin?" Chuck, Keronin's co-worker, chuckled.

The Bidoof was about half Keronin's size, a little like the Rattata that Keronin had met earlier. Nothing interesting stood out about Chuck, other than his huge tooth size and his smoothened head. He had shaved off the clumps of fur that normal Bidoof had, just so he could wear a hat. The hat he was wearing today was a black one, with the words 'number one dad' written in light blue. Unlike Keronin, Chuck was happily married, to a Furret known as Sacron. They had two children, with names that Keronin had never bothered to remember. Keronin liked to work alone, but was forced to work beside Chuck every day in his office job. This was mainly because Keronin was still a Normal IT apprentice. Keronin looked around his grey office block bleakly; this was more depressing than his small house.

Keronin sat down by his computer, not saying a word. He was working on filing the names of babies born this year, a long list since the Legendary government were encouraging higher birth rates. For what reason, Keronin didn't know or care, all he knew was that he had to list the number of babies born and report to Chuck, who would then report it to the boss, Terax the Ursaring. Programs to do this job were banned thirty years ago, to prevent unemployment from becoming too much of an issue. The Bidoof continued to sit around on his chair, spinning it occasionally. The Bidoof never really did any work; he would always give Keronin his jobs for the day and then goof off. Chuck was like that, he was so nice that even a hardened Pokemon such as Keronin himself couldn't say no.

Chuck gave a yawn. "You know what they're developing now?" The Bidoof asked, fiddling with a yellow pencil.

Keronin turned around, remembering that the last number was 100, and the last name was Tootie. "What?" Keronin snapped.

Chuck recoiled a little. "Hey, calm down!" The Bidoof rolled his eyes. "They're developing chips. These chips will detect the wearer's DNA so that some information is easily accessible."

"What sort of information?" Keronin asked, trying to look bored but at the same time remembering what the Rattata had been talking about.

"Blood group, immunities, future jobs, location…" Chuck threw the pencil on the floor and started counting with his stubby little fingers. "Stuff like that." Chuck smiled, showing off his buck teeth. "Can't wait till it comes out…make our lives easier, you know?"

"Yeah…sure…" Keronin sighed, turning around and continuing with his work. "Now…" he whispered to himself, "Was it Tootie or was it Fruity…"

"Talking to yourself again?" Chuck laughed, "I'm surprised they've not taken you to the loony bin yet…you'll be burned down for oil soon if you carry on acting crazy like that."

Keronin gulped a little, and continued counting the random names on the screen.

"Ah, so you have returned!" The Rattata said as the elevator doors opened.

"Have you been waiting here this whole time?" Keronin asked, looking quite annoyed.

"It's the best place to recruit people!" The Rattata said, smiling brightly. "Lots of normal types come here…you know only normal types respect normal types."

"Yeah," Keronin sighed, "I know, we're lowest of the low…"

"But not for long!" The Rattata squeaked, "Just come with me, and you'll see!"

"Fine." Keronin rolled his eyes, "I have nothing better to do, honestly."

The Rattata then walked over to a crack in the wall next to the elevator button. Keronin watched for a second, wondering why he was even following this rat. The Rattata screeched into the crack, making Keronin cover his ears with his stubby hands. For a few seconds, nothing happened.

"Uh, ok." Keronin said after a pause. "I'll be…going now."

"Shush…" The Rattata hissed, "Just wait…"

Suddenly, a green swirly portal appeared in the wall. The Rattata gave a small smile, and motioned Keronin to get in. After the few seconds where Keronin made it obvious he wasn't going in, he was then pushed by the strong (for their size) Rattata. He then saw nothing but black for a few seconds, before he was thrown, head first, into a strange room.

The room seemed to be made completely from cobble like material, with pebbles seemingly stuck inside walls of concrete. A few candles were lit, and the room was filled with books. Books even seemed to cover the floor, almost forming a carpet of sorts. In the room were several Pokemon, but the one that caught Keronin's eye was a grinning Haunter.

Keronin turned to the Rattata in anger. "What trickery is this?" He growled, "How dare you send me to…one of them!"

"What do you mean?" The Rattata asked, looking confused.

"Oh, don't worry Sarat." The purple creature waved his disembodied hands around. "You see, ghost types and normal types were once at war. A war that ended years ago, maybe, but the hate still burns on. It is fuelled by the majors around here. It is to prevent team ups, and the overthrowing of the legendary party. Now Aipom, I excuse my being here, but I had to prove a point. I am no harm to you, as long as you are no harm to me."

"And how can I trust that?" Keronin glared at the Haunter, who remained calm, "You are all about trickery, after all."

"If I am the master of trickery…" The Haunter said, "Who cannot be trusted, why haven't I killed you yet? You have no useful information for us; you are just a computer apprentice."

"H-how do you know that?" Keronin stammered.

"We have been tracking the government's activities for a long time. " The Rattata grinned, "I found your picture in one of the data bases Data cracked. Your blood type is O, your age is 25 in Aipom years, and you love the taste of raw egg."

"You're stalkers, aren't you?" Keronin yelled. "Why have you taken me here?"

"To let you know that your government is getting bored of messing around with Pokemon, and they want to move on to greater things." Haunter sighed, "They play with us, toy us, and force us to rage war on each other. And now, they are planning on of the worst kind of war to begin. You see, you know about that well loved Pokemon…oh…what's his name…"

"You mean Hedgeworth?" Keronin said. Hedgeworth was a tall, dark blue Garchomp. Despite his vicious appearance, he was concerned for the wealth fare of all Pokemon everywhere, and joined the legendary party due to his strangely tall height, which was said to be from a mutation at birth. He was seen as a hero in many communities, even towns of ice or rock types, types who normally had a thick hatred of dragon types like him.

"That's the one." The Rattata smiled. "Too bad the Legendaries are gonna kill him off in one of the worst ways possible."

"What do you mean?" Keronin asked.

"Poison." The Haunter sighed, "They are gonna use poison types as a scapegoat. According to our research, they will spike his food with Arbok poison, as the mayor of the poison town, Araboh, is an Arbok."

"Then everyone will want him and everyone in his town dead!" The Rattata jumped up and down.

"What other dealings they will be doing is unknown for now." The Haunter said.

"What is this to do with me?" Keronin asked, "You started by talking about chips," Keronin looked at the Rattata harshly.

"It started as that, yes." The Rattata sighed, "But it seems that that news is some form of decoy. They won't be using it for big brother style spying…yet."

"This new piece of news was only just sniped off of the database this morning." The Haunter shrugged as best as he could with disembodied hands, "There's only so much data can do."

"You called?" A voice spoke, and suddenly a pink and blue duck shaped thing popped out of one of the walls. Data had crazy looking yellow eyes, and a head that looked upside down, but other than that looked like a duck that was standing on an elongated tail. The blue arms of the Porygon-Z flailed around randomly, as did the tail which seemed to serve as a leg.

"Ah, Data." The Haunter smiled.

"Smokepuff." Data nodded with a grin. "I have done some more cracking. Found something about psychic types now."

"Strange," Smokepuff said, "Psychic types are a very powerful and charismatic type. They haven't lost a lot of reputation…why bump them all off?"

"Maybe they got too cocky…" Data hung his head. "After all, a strong mind can move mountains, or in this case Legendary tyrants."

"So, it's out of fear." Smokepuff smiled grimly, "What a cowardly move. How are they planning to do it?"

"I think its going to be a pack of Houndoom, though I am not sure." Data frowned, "I need to get cracking with those MSN files."

"MSN?" The Rattata asked.

Data looked at the Rattata with a disbelieving look. Smokepuff looked on with a humoured grin.

"It's like email." Keronin explained after a pause. There was another short pause. "Like a fast letter."

"Oh, now I get it!" The Rattata grinned, "Silly me, living in a cupboard isn't good for me, is it?"

"Never mind." Data shook his head. "Anyway, I'd better get cracking." The Porygon-Z vanished off into thin air.

"Smokepuff?" Keronin looked at the Haunter.

"It's a codename, as is Data." Smokepuff smiled, "Our activities are not the most legal of activities after all; we need to keep our identities hidden just in case there are hidden microphones."

"Mine is Shrapnel." The Rattata grinned, "I found it in an old human dictionary. I thought it was cool!"

"Yes." Smokepuff sighed, "And now, you…what would your codename be?"

"C-codename?" Keronin looked shocked, "I don't even know if I want to join this thing…first of all I don't even know you…second of all I rarely ever work in groups…and honestly…I feel like I've been pushed into this. I don't know what to think anymore."

"Take your time." Smokepuff said. "I know you still don't trust me, so don't worry about coming out with that. I suggest you rest at home and let things digest first."

"Yeah, I might do that." Keronin smiled. "Uh, which is the way out?"

"Shrapnel, show this nice guy the way out." Smokepuff said.

"Sure, why not?" Shrapnel grinned, pushing Keronin back the way he came. "Bye bye now, and don't forget to look for me if you change your mind…I'm only by the elevator most of the time!"

"Oh, Shrapnel…" Smokepuff sighed.

Suddenly, Keronin found himself seeing nothing but black again. He then found himself in front of the elevator, with the green portal at the front fading away. He gave a sigh, walked over the stickiy carpet, and went to his house to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Morning broke far too early for Keronin, as the dim light of the sun burned his sensitive grey eyes. He got out of his bed, grumpily throwing the bed covers off the bed with a huff, and walked over to get breakfast. Today was a sunday, a day of rest. It was the only day where Keronin didn't have to work, and he often spent time with Chuck or some other Pokemon he randomly encountered. After stuffing his mouth with a few eggs, he raced to walk out of the door. The door opposite to his house opened as his did, and he groaned inside as he encountered one of the most annoying Pokemon he knew.

The Kecelon in front of him smiled kindly, holding a plate of strange grey cubes. These were known as nutriblocks, and were now being encouraged as a new food source rather than the "germ filled slop" that animals ate. The green lizard closed the door behind her with a curled up tail, and started at the Aipom with blank golden eyes.

"You've been eating eggs again, haven't you?" The Kecelon muttered, moving closer with the plate. "You really need to try these, our mayor claims it will give us an advantage during the great war!"

"Great war?" Keronin asked.

"Oh yes!" The green lizard smiled, moving the plate and almost dropping the grey blocks on the floor. "They say it can happen any time now...those other nations cannot be trusted." She moved the plate up to Keronin's face. "Have one."

"No thanks..." Keronin sighed, "I really do prefer eggs."

"Philistine." The Kecelon muttered, walking back into her house with a tut. "You'll die of salmonella."

"Good." Keronin muttered to himself. "Save me the trouble of having to live you with all the time."

He then walked out into the elevator stop, pausing to look at Shrapnel, who was walking around and trying to get the attention of the many Pokemon walking around. The small Rattata was running around and working hard to get the attention of the other Pokemon, but was failing due to the fact that most of the Pokemon were half awake and had no time for the purple rat's nonsense. Keronin walked beside the Rattata, looking at the purple rat carefully as the purple creature raced around.

"You're doing it wrong."Keronin sighed, causing the rat to look at him curiously. "Try later, their brains aren't awake yet."

"That's the point!" Shrapnel giggled, "They'll be too groggy to say no! I just need to find a way of attracting their attention without attracting too much attention, you know?"

"Hey!" Another purple blur raced towards the two. "What do you think you're doing?" Keronin faced a huge bipedal dog like creature, with a huge head that held massive fangs, and a stout and slightly fat body. The Granbull looked at the two with anger in their white eyes. Shrapnel seemed to shrink under the Pokemon's presence. Keronin, having seen guards before, knew that keeping calm was the best way of erasing suspicion.

"Waiting for the elevator." Keronin sighed, "I don't know what this Rattata is doing, to be honest."

Shrapnel shivered as the Granbull looked the Rattata over. "You look like a crazy." The Granbull growled, grabbing the Rattata like one would pick up a handbag. "You're coming with me."

"No!" Shrapnel shouted, "Please...don't...oh Arceus!"

"Arceus?" The Granbull dropped the Rattata in fear, "Is he here? Oh fuck...I hope I've done what he wanted me to do!"

"What do you mean?" Keronin asked.

"N-never mind!" The Granbull raced off, wagging his tail behind him.

"Oh my..." Shrapnel said, feeling rather dizzy. "That was pretty scary."

"Yeah." Keronin looked at his tan feet. "I'd hate the idea of you being turned into oil...that's just nasty."

Shrapnel blushed.

"I don't mean that way!" Keronin frowned, "I don't even know your gender...or your real name."

"For now, that's classified. When we get to know each other more, maybe you'll find out." Shrapnel grinned, spinning around in circles.

"Maybe." Keronin sighed, watching the lift doors open.

"So, you joining?" Shrapnel asked, tilting their head.

"Not sure..." Keronin said, watching the doors close in front of him.

****************************************************************************************************

"Isn't it a wonderful day to be alive?" Chuck sighed, leaning against a concrete block.

The garden the two had once played in as children and teenagers had turned into a jungle of concrete blocks and wooden beams. The area had started out as a building site, but a change of plans resulted in the abandoning of the place. Deaths were common in a place such as this, though Chuck and Keronin would still visit out of a sense of duty, trying to squeeze a drop of their memories back into their lives, a time were flora and fauna were common, rather than the slabs of grey and brown around them. Keronin was lying on the ground, feeling small stones digging into his back, which Chuck was leaning backwards against a concrete block, looking rather depressed. The constant grey skies seemed to have finally got to him. Despite not wanting to admit it, Keronin was worried about his laid back and really lazy friend.

"What's the matter, Chuck?" Keronin asked as he picked up a beam with the hand on his tail. He had placed it over his head to act as a form of shade, despite the lack of sun.

"One of my children, Emra..." Chuck looked down, "Has been found with the devil gene inside him."

"Devil gene?" Keronin asked, looking worried.

"The ability to preform Pokemon moves." Chuck looked ashamed, "I thought that gene was bred out of the community...but not so..."

"What's going to happen to..."

"Emra...he's..." Chuck started to cry, silent tears falling down his normally cheerful eyes, "Oiled."

"Why did you let them?" Keronin asked, now filled with fury.

"I wish I could have." Chuck continued to cry. "But...it was either him or my wife...they had her...held guns to her throat."

"It's not your fault, Chuck." Keronin sighed, "I never thought I would ever say that."

"I know it isn't..." Chuck sniffed, "It's just that little Emra is now probably fueling some higher up's TV...I don't even have TV and I am a star rank."

"He might not be dead yet." Keronin reassured him, "We could just send some letters demanding him back and..."

"What's the point?" Chuck threw himself against the block. "It could take weeks...months even, just to get a reply."

"But, what else can we do?" Keronin sighed.

"You could ask us for help." A voice sang. Keronin looked around sharply, seeing Shrapnel walk from behind a pile of concrete blocks.

"Us?" Chuck looked confused. "Who are you?"

"A friend of Keronin's..." Shrapnel smiled. "Agent Shrapnel, reporting for duty!"

"Agent..." Chuck's face went pale. "You are one of those terrorists, aren't you?"

"Ah, the lies have got to you too." Shrapnel nodded, "Don't worry, I know you wouldn't trust me. He didn't." The rat jabbed a clawed finger at Keronin.

"Or me, though that is understandable." Smokepuff suddenly appeared from behind Shrapnel.

"Shit, it's a trap!" Chuck looked around with fear in his eyes, "You can never trust these terrorists!"

"Oh for Arceus's..."

"Arceus?" Chuck's eyes went wide, "He's joined your side? I knew he wasn't to be trusted...I was part of the Regigigas party anyway..."

"Not another one..." Shrapnel sighed.

"Anyway." Smokepuff coughed.

"Excuse me!" Chuck shouted, causing the ghost to flinch. "I'm not letting you speak until you let us go!"

"You amuse me, Bidoof." Smokepuff smiled, using psychic powers to lift the Bidoof into the air. Chuck screamed and wriggled about, his little tail bobbing up and down. "Now, calm down. Data has tracked were all the oil fuel is being processed; we could save your son."

"Or we could stay here fighting, and then he would just be fuel." Shrapnel smiled a bitter smile. "So, we working together or what?"

"I don't trust you..." Chuck sighed, "But I'd do anything to get my family back together. I'll do it."

"Good." Smokepuff smiled, "Now, here's the plan..."

***************************************************************************************************

Keronin found himself in front of the oil processing building. The huge building was a massive pile of concrete, with windows lined up on the sides of the building. There was a hole in the block which served as a door, with a sleeping Kangaskhan in the middle of the doorway. The brown coloured beast snored, the tan tummy with a small pouch moving up and down as she did. Shrapnel looked at the creature carefully, seeming to analyse the situation. The Rattata got out some strange looking glasses, and then started looking around.

"There are lasers in between the Kangaskhan and the door. Three of them, seemingly invisible to most. Kecleon work, this is. Three guns are situated at the doors; one in front of the door, three feet away from Kanga, and two of them on either side of the door." Shrapnel said, grinning. "My time to shine."

The Rattata leaped forward with a speed which made both Keronin and Chuck jump a little. Gun shots fired up, trying to hit the small blur that was Shrapnel. Keronin noticed that a bullet had hit its mark; Shrapnel now was bleeding slowly from a wound on their leg. This slowed the Rattata down, causing them to limp slowly towards the guns. With their huge buck teeth, Shrapnel nibbled on two wires that were attached to the gun that was to the right. The gun went crazy, firing off everywhere. One of the bullets managed to hit the Kangaskhan, hitting with an almost perfect head-shot. The Kangaskhan got up slowly, blood pouring from her head, and then slumped back down again as the blood loss got too much for her. Shrapnel continued their nibbling, and the gun turned off. The other guns were still firing wildly, bullets were flying everywhere as they tried to aim at Shrapnel. Shrapnel then limped over to the second gun, the lack of speed causing the Rattata to end up getting shot in the left arm this time. Just dragging themselves along, Shrapnel hopped near the second gun, and started nibbling again. Yet again, the gun shot wildly as it was being attacked, riddling the Kangaskhan with bullets yet again. Blood poured from the wounds that were made, indicating that the Pokemon was once still alive after the head-shot. Biting his lip from guilt, Chuck looked on as Shrapnel limped over to the third gun. The third gun had no trouble in shooting the last hind leg of the Pokemon, causing Shrapnel to slump to the ground. Chuck ran over quickly, he knew he could have helped if he knew how to. Bullets riddled past him as he looked at the Rattata carefully, and then raced over to the third gun. With a quick bite, the gun was down, and the Bidoof was now checking on Shrapnel to see if they were alright.

"Agent Shrapnel?" Chuck nosed the chest of the Pokemon, trying to detect a heartbeat. He smiled as he detected a faint pulse.

The Rattata groaned, "Go on...forget about me."

Chuck looked at the open door. "But,"

"Just go, I'll be fine." Shrapnel smiled, "My death will be quick and painless, hopefully."

Chuck bit his lip, which was pretty hard, and then raced through the door. Smokepuff looked at his fallen comrade with tears in his eyes.

"Goodnight, sweet...uh..." He looked at Keronin and Chuck with a shy smile. "You know what I mean." The three raced through the door, and into the oil preparing room. 


	3. Chapter 3

The sight that showed itself in front of the three Pokemon shocked them all to the core. The building consisted of one huge, silver walled room. Tube shaped tanks were littered around the room, holding dead or dying Pokemon in them. A machine in the middle of the room, shaped like a cube with lots of red buttons on the front, made small beeping noises and printed out paper from a slot at the back. Smokepuff floated towards the cube, reading the writing that had been printed out.

"Code elite progress..." Smokepuff read calmly, "75% efficiency. Prone to emotional outbursts. Power at 15%. Attacks: Earthquake, Surf, Sunny day, hail."

"Attacks?" Chuck yelled in surprise, "They have been bred out of all Pokemon though? Except my son..."

"Maybe there are more isolated cases of this devil gene." Smokepuff sighed, "Maybe they are using it for their own means. You know what those legendary Pokemon are like."

Chuck shuddered. "Why is this room so empty though?"

"I don't know." Keronin sighed, "We'd better make the most of it, and find your son in these tanks."

The three ran around, checking each tank for the small bidoof that was Chuck's son. The three found many strange shapes floating in the purple liquid, often many had no real shape. They just appeared to be floating blobs with eyes, eyes closed shut with pain or some other emotion. There were a few minutes of silence as Chuck stood in front of one of these blobs with tears in his eyes.

"This is hopeless." Chuck wept, "What if Emra is one of these blobs here? I'd never recognise him!"

"Calm down, Chuck!" Keronin shook his friend by the shoulders, the hand on his tail waving angrily, "You are better than this!"

Smokepuff watched the two calmly, and then turned to a button beside the tank. "Maybe if we press this..." The Haunter began, "We will find your son."

"Wait!" Keronin yelled, but it was too late.

The button was slammed down by Smokepuff's huge purple hand. From the machine in the middle, a loud ringing sound was heard. The three turned to leave, but the door that was behind them was suddenly shut and locked. The three looked around, noticing the tanks that were leaking their fluid. The strange blobs inside opened their eyes, looking towards the three with hungry eyes.

"Food?" One of them rasped. This was a pink blob with two eyes that looked like a fly's.

"Master promised us live food!" A blue one cheered. "Finally, food...not just fluid...I have been hungry for a long time."

"Now wait a minute..." Chuck stepped back, "You can't honestly be thinking of cannibalism!"

A green one with strange big eyes stepped forward. "You don't know what its like..." The green one rasped, "To be hungry...to starve and live on guts alone. You are obviously criminals, or you wouldn't be in this place!"

"Criminal?" Chuck looked worried, "I ain't no criminal! Smokepuff here may be one, but I sure am not! I am only here for my son."

The blobs chattered to each other for a few seconds. Then the pink one turned around, opening their mouth and showing sharp fangs. "You are Chuck, aren't you?"

Chuck nodded.

"Forget about your son." The creature warned, "He doesn't exist to you anymore. Just get out, forget, and thank the master it wasn't you."

Chuck jumped forward, grabbing the creature by the sides and slamming it into the wall. "What have you done to my son?" He barked.

"Not me..." The creature grinned a sadistic grin. "Master has done things to Pokemon like your son. He's no longer your son...he is the son of the master!"

"You..." Chuck started shaking from anger. "You...useless sack of shit!" The other blobs watched in shock as Chuck slammed the creature into the wall repeatedly. Blood started pouring from the creature's head, the eye closing in pain once more. "You mess with my son, you mess with me!" He slammed the creature on the ground, stamping on it with his front paws. Keronin jumped over too, stamping on the other part of the strange, soft creature until it stopped breathing. The creatures stared at the fallen comrade with greedy eyes.

"We...are not immortal..." The blue one spoke, grinning.

"Our life...it can end at long last!" The green one grinned back. The two stared on at the body for a few seconds, and pounced on it like hungry lions.

"I...I'm sorry Chuck." Smokepuff looked on sadly, "I...wish I could have done..."

"It's..." Chuck started sobbing, "Not your fault. You tried your best to help."

The blobs had just finished eating. The green was first to finish, looking at the three with a huge grin.

"Your son...he is a weapon and no more." The green grinned, "How does that make you feel? Go on...take it out on me. We all are weak in the spirits...master has put too much faith in our will to live."

"No...take it out on me!" The blue one bounced up to Chuck, "Come on, you murdering little bitch! You're going to be arrested anyway, why not do us all a favor?"

The two remaining blobs tried to corner Chuck, who stepped back. The anger had quickly washed off the normally cheerful bidoof, and now he was feeling numb instead of rage. He didn't want to kill anymore, he'd done enough.

"No...no more killing for me." Chuck stammered, "I don't normally kill!"

"You little pussy!" The green blob screamed, bouncing towards the bidoof.

Keronin and Smokepuff quickly ran over, pulling the creature off the Bidoof with a quick tug. Blood poured down on Chuck's side, where he had just been bitten. The bidoof slumped down, feeling too upset to care. Keronin growled a little, slapping the green blob with the hand on his tail. Smokepuff also relentlessly slapped the blue blob with his purple hand, growling a little as he did so. As he growled, he started glowing a strange pink colour. This pink colour also surrounded the blob, which was now screaming in pain.

"What are you doing?" The creature yelled, its white eyes bulging in pain. A few minutes later, the eyes closed and the body seemed to melt out of Smokepuff's hands.

Keronin turned around, dropping the green corpse he had just killed. "What was that?" He asked.

"I...don't know." Smokepuff stammered.


	4. Chapter 4

The three were interrupted by a strange humming noise coming from the silver box in the middle of the room. The buttons on the machine were glowing a strange purple colour, which was so bright it illuminated the dim room with its lavender glow. The three looked around, hearing the small rumbling sound that was now around them.

"This can't be good." Smokepuff frowned. "I…I honestly don't know what's going on!"

"Look!" Chuck said, pointing his paws at one of the tanks in horror.

In this tank was what seemed to be a very mutilated pikachu. The yellow creature's eyes had bulged open, their mouth opening and closing like a distressed fish. The purple glow that had illuminated the room was now surrounding the tank that contained the Pokemon. The pokemon screamed, electricity pouring out of its body along with what seemed to be liquidised body parts. Chuck screamed, and charged into the tank. The tank smashed open with a crash, the strange liquid flowing all over the floor, and the yellow rodent sitting on the tank floor with what seemed to be relief in their eyes. Chuck looked at the small creature with fear; what has once been the pikachu's right arm was now a melted mess.

"They…found the devil gene in me." The yellow creature explained, "They gassed me, placed me in that tank…and were taking me apart for their latest project. Would you like to see it?"

Chuck looked at Keronin and Smokepuff. The haunter nodded with a frown, and Keronin nodded after looking at the haunter for a few seconds. The small rodent made a squeak, and lead the three to the silver box. The box was now glowing an angry red, making small humming noises and printing out paper.

"We have to be quick though." The pikachu explained, "Security will be back by morning…specially after you freed me. This place is mostly ignored thanks to the high security…pokemon don't go well with guns, after all." The pikachu then looked at the machine timidly. "Right…now…we must press…here!" The pikachu slammed down its own working arm on the middle of the machine. The silver box now glowed a golden colour, cracking open to show a strange staircase.

"Wow…" Chuck looked at the stone staircase. "This is like one of those horror movies…"

"No time to comment, bidoof." The pikachu said, "You need to get down there, the alternate exit is located near there."

"How do you know all this?" Smokepuff asked, looking at the pikachu with a curious gaze. "You've never been down there."

"I have." The pikachu explained. "My tail is down there. My arm is down there. I can sense it…I can sense myself down there."

"Right." Smokepuff nodded, "We'll be going down now."

The haunter then floated down the staircase, followed by Keronin and Chuck. The aipom looked at Smokepuff curiously; he knew something was up.

"Do you suspect a trap?" Keronin asked, looking at the purple ghostly being beside him.

"I do." Smokepuff nodded, "But it seems we have no choice but to go this way. If pikachu is right, we would be caught if we stayed up in the specimen room. And, I want to find out what this creature is. I want to see if we can use it for our own purposes."

"It should be heavily guarded though." Chuck frowned, "I don't get it, why aren't we in trouble?"

The three eventually reached the bottom of the stone stairs. In front of them was a gigantic tank, one that held what seemed to be a strange splice of many creatures.

The head appeared to be that of an elongated mew head, a strange fox like head with sharp blue eyes , soft pink fur, and strange pikachu cheeks. The mane of an arcanine framed the beast's head, looking really out of place with the small creature's head. The body was thick and furry, strange brown fur seemed to wave at the three as it floated in the tank. The arms were purple and clawed, pretty much like the granbull they had encountered before. Powerful, dragon like back legs kicked randomly as the beast slept, while what seemed to be a Lugia's tail thrashed angrily. The three were taken aback by the sight, a sight that would remain in their memories for a long time.

"What are we gonna do?" Chuck asked, looking at his two companions. "This things looks like it could go on a rampage…I don't think releasing it is such a good idea."

Smokepuff seemed to think for quite some time. "We are gonna need help getting this out of here." He said after a pause.

"But how?" Keronin asked.

Smokepuff paused for a while, and then vanished.

"Hey, thanks a lot!" Keronin shouted, "That's a nice trick of yours! Now get back here and think!"

Smokepuff did not return.

"Ghost types…" Chuck frowned.

"How are we gonna get this thing out of here?" Keronin asked.

"I don't know…" Chuck sighed, "We really do need some help now."

_Help? You need help?_

"Did…did you hear that?" Keronin asked, looking around. "What was that?"

"I don't know…but it is giving me the creeps!" Chuck shivered.

_I help my friends…are you my friend?_

"What are you?" Chuck shouted, "Where are you?"

_I don't know what I am…or where I am. All I know is that I am your friend."_

Smokepuff then suddenly appeared, surrounded this time by several haunters like himself. The four purple creatures looked at Chuck and Keronin with amused looks on their faces.

"What's the matter?" Smokepuff laughed, "You look as if you have seen a ghost!"

The two pokemon looked at each other for a brief moment.

"I think we were just daydreaming." Chuck frowned, "We were hearing things that weren't there."

"Oh, alright," Smokepuff smiled, "let's head on our way, then! My ghostly friends will teleport us out of here through the ghost dimension!"

"G-ghost dimension?" Chuck stammered, "I think I have had enough ghosts for one day!"

"Oh, you'll be fine!" Smokepuff laughed, "We'll be looking after you, and we'll only be there for a few moments!"

"That sounds alright then." Keronin smiled, turning to Chuck, "I'm going, anyway. How about you?"

"I'll go just to get out of this creepy place!" Chuck shivered. "Oh, are we taking the Pokemon with us, anyway?"

"Yes." Smokepuff smiled, "Data will be performing tests on it as soon as possible."

_No more tests…_

Smokepuff's eyes widened. "What?"

_I said…no more tests!_

The tank started shaking wildly, the creature in it shaking with anger and fear.

_You…you were my friends…_

"Alrighty…no tests then!" Smokepuff shouted, "We just need to get you out of here so you can't be used as a weapon."

_Thank you. _The creature then rested again. _We can be the best of friends…_

"Where will it be stored?" Keronin asked, looking at the creature with curiosity.

"We will store it at the base…" Smokepuff grinned, "You guys will have to help me guard it."

"Yes…" Chuck said softly, looking at the brown fur sadly, "My…son is in there." Tears started to form on his eyes. "Even though it looks nothing like him…it still is Erma."

"Good." Smokepuff sighed, "Now…we are all going to summon some ghostly teleporting energy…when you see a green swirl…jump in it!"

The haunters then formed a circle, chanting a strange language that neither Chuck nor Keronin understood. A strange green swirl first appeared in front of the experiment, making it vanish instantly.

"Now, jump in." Smokepuff nodded.

Chuck jumped in first, followed by Keronin. Smokepuff and the other haunters then jumped in one at a time. The group were sent through what seemed to be a grey tunnel of air and clouds, with strange shadows growling at them every now and then. The ground continued to fall through this tunnel for quite some time, until they landed inside the base. Keronin rubbed his shoulder where he had landed with a great force, and looked around. A small group of the pokemon working at the base screamed in horror at the creature in front of them, hiding under desks or anything they could hide in.

"Settle down!" Smokepuff cried, putting his ghostly claw on the tank. "This is a pokemon we saved from being a weapon!"

"But…" A tan coloured cat with a golden coin on its head stammered, "It's a…a freak!"

"You should have killed it while you had the chance!" A zigzagoon roared.

"Can't you see…it is allied with the masters and will doom us all?" A sentret shivered, "Bringing it here was what they wanted you to do!"

The other normal type pokemon continued to chatter and shout, until Data floated out of its room.

"Quiet!" Data shouted. The others grew silent, looking at the porygon Z with fear. "We brought it here to save it and test on it!"

"Well…" Smokepuff coughed, "we can't test on it."

"Why not?" Data looked heartbroken, "I need to find out how one of these things works?"

_You want to know how I work?_

Everyone looked around in fear. "What the hell was that?" A wigglytuff snapped.

_Like you, I have a heart and soul. Like you, I breathe, eat and sleep. Like you, I have emotions that can be broken. Like you, I can make mistakes. I am no different from you, other than my telepathy and my outward appearance. Didn't the old proverb say that it is wrong to judge by looks, but right to judge by actions and personality? I don't ask for you to be my friend, which I would love. No…despite being a lonely and isolated creature I just want you to tolerate me, and accept me for who I am._

The crowd fell silent. Smokepuff looked quite shocked at this display, and Keronin looked at the tank in admiration. Tears could be seen forming on some of the crowd's eyes, and even Chuck had a small smile. The creature smiled its own smile, closing its eyes again as it "talked".

_My name…I have none. I am experiment 66…code name elite. I am part mew, arcanine, bidoof, pikachu, lugia…and garchomp. And I…just want to live like the rest of you. However, I am doomed to stay in this tank…I cannot breathe your air yet. I will help you in your overthrowing…as long as you allow me to live with you and learn about you for the few months needed._

"I think…" Smokepuff started, "you should stay. You are no harm to us while in this tank."

"I…" The wigglytuff seemed lost for words. "I…have no real choice but to accept as well. That was quite the moving speech."

"I still don't trust you." The meowth muttered, "But you may stay as long as you stay clear of me."

"I'm with the meowth on this one." The zigzagoon frowned.

"Me too!" The sentret added.

"Right, our good friend is now staying!" Smokepuff smiled, "Tonight, these two…" He pointed to Keronin and Chuck, "Will be watching them, as they have saved this creature from a life of living hell!"

The crowd cheered, and the Pokemon all left the base to go to sleep. Keronin looked a little annoyed; he didn't really agree to sleeping with a splice. He felt strange around the creature, despite admiring it earlier. Something didn't feel right about it…how it suddenly changed from simple words to a complicated speech in a matter of hours. He watched the floating creature as it lay in its tank, its small cat like mouth moving up and down as it breathed.

"That was some speech, huh?" Chuck laughed, lying down on a pillow Smokepuff had given him. "Amazing how fast that thing can learn!"

"Yes…" Keronin muttered, "First it seemed like a child…now it seems to be an adult…it makes no sense."

"Sure does." Chuck smiled, watching the creature fondly, "Remember, this thing is made up of many different pokemon with different ages, thoughts and feelings. Imagine how that must feel. No wonder the speech changed…"

"Still doesn't seem right to me." Keronin sighed, "Whatever…"

"Maybe you don't understand." Chuck smiled again, "That speech reminded me of one of the many Erma did for gay rights."

"He was gay?"

"A supporter…though he wasn't too sure about himself." Chuck smiled, "The government…how it hates anything that lowers the population at the moment. Maybe that's why he was chosen…and not just me. He was a fighter…not just in his genes…but in his heart." Chuck then grabbed a blanket that had been left of the floor for him. "Anyway, I'm off to bed." He yawned. "Sooner I sleep, sooner I will see my beloved again."

"Goodnight, Chuck." Keronin smiled, and then curled up on the floor beside the creature. Something was making him feel drowsy, and within seconds he had fallen asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Keronin felt very strange while he slept. He felt like he was floating in a strange place, a place that consisted of nothing but a mirror that showed his own, pale face. He floated towards the mirror slowly, touching it with a furry paw. The reflection grinned back at him, showing sharp fangs that Keronin had never seen before. He shivered; he knew he was dreaming but couldn't get himself to wake up.

"Egg eater." The reflection hissed, grinning at him, "What do you think you can do? Why are you with these people who are planning to break down everything you know?"

Keronin tried to reply, but found he couldn't speak. A lump formed in his throat and he tried not to cry.

"You are a nobody." The voice hissed. "Your family was easily taken away…I don't know why you weren't. Maybe it's the fact that you were the only one…the only one not willing to fight back. Why are you doing this now? You have nothing to go back to, nobody to prove. You lost all that. You lost everyone."

Keronin shivered some more as he remembered the memories he had dutifully repressed. His mind flashed back to an image of his old home, a rickety old house hanging on by its foundations, the brown, wooden house that he had missed for such a long time. The soft grass that tickled the aipom's fur as he rolled in it with his sister, waiting for his mother to quickly cook the eggs he loved so much. He was such a fussy eater, he would refuse to eat unless the food he had contained eggs of some sort. His mother…an ambipom with lilac fur and a strange pink apron with a green heart on the front, the left hand that was on one of her tails always holding a ring. He then remembered the day the small family fell apart.

He was only little when it happened. It was a sunny day, a day you wouldn't expect anything bad to happen. There was another war going on between the ghost and normal types, at least that was what the government was telling everyone. His mother was reading a newspaper while cooking pancakes for everyone, humming to a song that Keronin could not remember anymore. There was a knock on the door, and his sister, a dark purple coloured aipom, went over to answer it. The door opened, the creaking interrupted by the sound of gunshots. His mother's ears pricked and she turned to run. Keronin stood still on the floor, quivering like a jelly. He saw the strange creatures in front of him, beasts of black and shadows with leering eyes and mouths that looked like zippers. He was stuck, unable to move out of fear, and his mother knew this. She ran towards him, picked him up, and then was shot down by the big guns the monsters were holding. Keronin fell to the ground alongside the wounded, banging his head on the hard tile floor. The two monsters looked around the house, taking everything that the family had. The creatures chuckled a little when they were done, and then pointed the guns at Keronin. The small aipom closed his eyes and braced himself for death.

It never came. A pink cow with black ears had raced in, showering the two with bullets. Keronin lay down on the floor and covered his small ears, shivering and wishing everything would go away. And it did. Keronin looked back and recalled that he had no memory of this back then. He had no memory of anything, seeing himself as suddenly appearing in the miltank's house one day. He curled up into a ball, like he recalled doing all those years ago while the reflection chuckled at his suffering.

"You are pathetic." The reflection growled, "I'm trying to help you here, and you are just quivering like a baby. Man up! You've lived without them, and now you need to survive. Their deaths will mean nothing if you endanger yourself."

"But…" Keronin whimpered, "I need to…before something like this happens again."

The reflection seemed to think about this for a few seconds. "Very well." The other aipom wrinkled his tiny nose. "Suit yourself. Be a hero. But, remember, heroes don't always win in this world."

Keronin woke with a start, panting heavily as he looked around the room. The dirt walled room seemed darker somehow, only lit up by the glow of the strange creature that the group had adopted. The creature seemed to be sleeping, groaning as it glowed a blood red. Keronin continued breathing heavily, looking at Chuck as he did so. Good old Chuck…a good friend. Keronin found himself smiling when he saw the bidoof snoozing next to the tank. Keronin stood up and walked around, looking for something to do till the morning arrived. He wandered off, trying to find someone who was still awake.

The tunnels were vast and went on for many miles, with Keronin trying every single turn that was presented to him. He soon found himself very lost, looking around the tunnels for a sign that he wasn't going around in circles. No such sign could be found, as every tunnel looked the same. There was always a light after three doors, and a bend in the route after that. After what seemed to be many hours of wandering, Keronin found himself in a strange metallic tunnel instead of one made of dirt. There was a door in front of him that was made of metal and covered in strange buttons, and Keronin found himself pressing one. A strange tune was heard, and suddenly the door opened with a very tired looking Data looking at Keronin with a look of annoyance.

"It is three am." The porygon z sighed, "What could you possibly want?"

"I want to know…" Keronin started shedding tears as he spoke, "If we take over the government…will we protect all families from…what I have faced?"

"Oh geeze…" Data sighed, "Another tragic agent. Well, you should sit down in my room, though it isn't that comfortable…meh."

Keronin walked into the room, which was made of shining silver, and sat down on a gold box. The rest of the room contained a huge computer, which was humming softly. Data was connected to this computer via a wire, which made Keronin wince at the strange silver blood that was dripping out of the strange being.

"Right." Data said, looking at the aipom with his swirly eyes. "What happened?"

"I just remembered what happened to my family…" Keronin shivered, "My sister was shot down by…ghost types, and my mum was shot down by the same things when she was trying to rescue me."

"Ah, this was during the great war, right?" Data nodded, "As a program created by humans, I have no idea what loss is like." The porygon z turned to the computer, "It must be very hard for you…now you know. But I must ask…how did you forget?"

"I don't know." Keronin sighed, "I had a strange dream, and it reminded me of my memories."

"Someone must have sealed those memories for some reason." Data sighed, "But only ghosts and psychic pokemon can do such a thing. Why would they want to do that? I must work it out!"

The computer then made a loud beeping noise, and the porygon z started flashing. "Oh, and there should be a teleporter back to the main room." The porygon z said, "It's a green glowy thing…can't miss it." The porygon z then vanished. Keronin looked around the room, finding a strange glowing tile on the floor. Stepping on it, the whole room in front of him suddenly turned white and he then found himself back in the main room. He looked around at Chuck, who was rubbing his head softly with a look of confusion.

"I was wondering where you had got to." Chuck sighed, seeming still half asleep. "I had a bad dream…couldn't get back to sleep. Been talking to Emra while waiting for you to come back, you know what I am like."

"You sure it wants to be called Emra?" Keronin asked, frowning. "After all, there are other creatures in there."

"You saying that isn't my son?" Chuck growled, "Of course he is my son! He…just looks a little different. That's all."

Keronin paused for a few seconds, and shook his head. "Never mind," The aipom sighed, looking at the tank. "What were you two talking about, anyway?"

_What to do next. _The creature stirred as it talked, the eyes shut in pain. _I don't know what I am capable of, but I wish to help._

"That's my boy!" Chuck grinned, tapping the tank. "We were thinking of going to other places, recruiting more pokemon to use for our good cause."

_I believe we should start with the psychic types first, if we ever so such a thing. I am part psychic type, and I am a mew. They will worship me if they still believe that mew is their saviour._

"Mew, their saviour?" Chuck laughed, "Are they that backwards?"

The aura around the creature glowed red. _Remember that you still praise arceus. Is that not any better? Silly thoughts like that will only divide the world…_

"Anyway, so we will head to the psychic types first." Keronin changed the subject. "Maybe we should inform Smokepuff of this…he is in charge."

"Good idea." Chuck replied. The two then toddled off to find Smokepuff. After another few hours of navigating through the identical tunnels, they found a door that seemed to be made of ghostly energy.

"What's that?" Chuck poked the door with a stubby hand.

"No idea." Keronin said, "Some form of portal?"

"Wait…I can hear voices." Chuck said after a pause, wagging his small tail, "Listen!"

"So ladies…how long have you three known each other?" Smokepuff's voice seemed hushed, but it could still be easily heard. Girlish shrieks could be heard in response. "Maybe you need to get to know me a little better, hm?" He laughed.

"Oh yes!" The girls replied.

"Well then…let me get myself prepared!"

Chuck made a smirk. "Smokepuff isn't as clean as we thought he was, eh?" He chuckled.

Keronin sighed, "Yeah, but who is?"

"Not me, that's for sure." A soft voice spoke from behind them. The two turned to see an aipom with violet fur that seemed rough and thick. The ears of the monkey pokemon twitched when they saw Keronin, and the aipom grinned. It reminded Keronin of the reflection he faced, right down to the sharp canines the pokemon had.

"Who are you, and how long have you been watching us?" Keronin demanded.

"I am agent Hoarder." The aipom replied with a grin, "And I have been watching you two for long enough. You are those two who were babysitting that monster, weren't you? Why aren't you watching it now?"

"We came to ask Smokepuff something." Chuck mumbled. "We won't be too long."

"You can take all the time you like," The aipom patted the bidoof on the head, "as long as you let me help you, of course. A girl needs a little bit of adventure…and writing up paperwork now bores me." The aipom sighed, holding her head in her hands dramatically.

"S-sure." Chuck stammered, "What do you think, Keronin?"

The male aipom looked at the taller aipom with a frown. Hoarder looked at the other aipom with cute, pleading eyes, which caused the other aipom to shrug and sigh.

"You know I don't care." Keronin sighed, "Any company is good company…as long as you don't nag me too much."

"Right," Hoarder smiled, "I bet you are wondering how to get into this smoky door. It is actually quite simple…you use an attack, any attack that affects ghost types."

"I don't know any attacks." Keronin said.

"Neither do I!" Piped in Chuck, "We are from the city, we had the devil gene removed!"

"I'm sure you could do sand attack, of all things." Hoarder rolled her eyes, "Just throw some sand on the door."

Keronin picked up some dirt off the floor, and threw it at the door. The door then glowed white, and opened. The room that was presented to them looked as vast as outer space, with the only piece of furniture, a floating bed, hovering in the middle. On this bed was Smokepuff, with several other ghost type pokemon. Smokepuff's eyes were filled with shock now he realised that some fellow agents had spotted him during private time, and then floated off the bed.

"We were just…discussing plans!" Smokepuff turned a little red. "You could have knocked you know, we are in the middle of a very important meeting!"

One of the girls, a black banette, giggled. Her zipper rattled as she laughed, making Keronin shiver.

"These two have plans to discuss with you." Hoarder rolled her eyes. "I'm just here because I want some adventure."

"Good old Hoarder…" Smokepuff sighed, "Always itching for something more."

"We want to move across the world, getting more recruits!" Chuck jumped up a little, "Erma and I came up with the plan!"

"Erma?" Smokepuff looked confused.

"He has decided to name the splice after his son." Keronin explained, feeling a little annoyed.

"What do you mean, after my son?" Chuck glared at Keronin, "My son is still alive you know, just in a different form!"

Keronin turned to the bidoof. "Listen to me!" He shouted, "Your son is dead! The creature you talk to may have a bit of your son in it, but it isn't your son! You need to get it into your head, before something bad happens! What if this creature dies? You need to accept the fact that your son will never come back."

"You are a liar!" Chuck growled, rearing up and slapping the aipom's cheek.

Hoarder grinned, chanting "Fight fight fight!" while Smokepuff held his face in his disembodied hands. The two exchanged slaps for a few minutes, until a horrible wail pierced through the walls of the tunnels, making them shake a little. The cry of pain continued for several minutes, making Keronin's ears hurt a little. When it stopped, everyone looked around in confusion.

"What in the world was that?" Hoarder said grumpily, rubbing her ears.

"I don't know, but maybe we should find out!" Smokepuff said, quickly floating towards the door. "Follow me!"

The three followed Smokepuff down the tunnels, Keronin trying desperately to keep up. Chuck seemed to have a huge look of worry on his face, and this was justified by the sight that presented itself to the four like an ugly parasite. Erma had smashed the glass that had held it, and was now looking at an intruder with the look a bird would to its prey. The creature it was facing was a red dinosaur, with cracks on its red hide that reminded Keronin of the plates of the earth. The underbelly of the creature, however, was coloured a strange silver, and one of the eyes of the pokemon was now glowing a fierce red. The robotic groudon gave a huge growl, shaking the earth around them with it, while Erma replied with the horrible shriek the group had heard earlier. Erma then pounced, floating up in the air and head butting the creature in the head. The robotic groudon retaliated with a slash of its sharp claws, blood pouring down the splice while it screeched in pain.

"Hey!" Chuck yelled, rushing forward, "No one does that to my son!"

The groudon laughed, and swiped Chuck into a wall. Blood poured from the bidoof's head as Chuck moaned in pain, rolling around to try and get himself up. Erma floated in front of the bidoof, firing a huge beam of light at the groudon to try and put it off attacking Chuck. The groudon roared as the hyper beam hit it, burning the skin that it hit. The metal that was nearby melted into the skin, causing the creature to scream in pain and then shoot out torrents of hot flame into the splice. The hot flame caused the metal around the groudon's face to also melt, causing it to scream harder and shoot more flames.

"We have to get out of here!" Smokepuff yelled, floating away from more torrents of flame, "It's too dangerous!"

"What about Chuck?" Keronin asked, looking at his fallen friend. Erma was using a protective shield around the two to try and protect the bidoof from the flames, but the splice's energy was running out quickly.

"We can't do anything about him; he's too close to the flames." Smokepuff looked down, "We can't be heroes now…we have to leave him and hope for the best."

"No." Keronin growled, stepping towards the flames. "I am not gonna let someone die on my watch…not anymore!"

"No, don't be a hero!" Smokepuff yelled over the cracking of flames and the clanging of metal against Erma's skin, "You will die if you try!"

"Good." Keronin looked at Smokepuff seriously, "I'd rather die saving a friend than leaving them to die…I've made that mistake before." The two exchanged glances for a few seconds, then Keronin spoke again. "Save the other people living here. You have no time to waste." Keronin said, pushing the two away.

"Well, I'm staying." Hoarder said, walking beside Keronin, "You will need help. Smokepuff, gather everyone and take them out of here; we will be back shortly."

"O-ok." Smokepuff stammered, vanishing into thin air.

The two aipom looked at the sight before them, quickly taking in everything to make sure that they could do this mission perfectly. Flames were everywhere, except for where the protective shield had been left (which was where Chuck was lying). Erma and the groudon were wrestling, the mew hybrid trying to pin the groudon down. The groudon was retaliating by spitting hot flames at the mew, who was trying its best to shrug it off. Keronin quickly ran over to Chuck, quickly followed by Hoarder. The two aipom picked up the bidoof together, and tried to carry him towards the exit. The groudon noticed this, and struggled even more to get off Erma's grip. It didn't take long for the groudon to throw off Erma, and then shoot another torrent of flame at the three. Pain filled Keronin's body as the flames licked it, causing him to fall to the ground along with Hoarder and Chuck. The three groaned as the pain increased, and they all closed their eyes and prepared for the death that the flames would provide them. The three started coughing, the smokiness of the room getting too much for them, and Keronin crawled over weakly to where Chuck lay.

"I'm…sorry Chuck." Keronin said weakly, looking at the crumbling tunnel. "I shouldn't have been so mean earlier. Erma…he is still here…with us. Hopefully he will win…and then we all can be happy in the afterlife."

"No need to say sorry." Chuck replied, coughing a little, "We are friends…it's normal for friends to argue."

Keronin smiled, "Until now…I never realised how much you meant to me." He said, feeling sleepy, "And now I know…it's far too late. I have taken you for granted for far too long…"

Keronin could see Erma floating towards them, spraying water everywhere. The mew hybrid looked worried, floating around the three like a strange looking angel.

"Look…" Keronin said weakly, "Your…your son has come to say goodbye."

"Erma…" Chuck smiled, "My son, my pride and joy. No matter what you look like…you will always be my son." The bidoof then closed his eyes.

_No! I will not allow this to happen!_

Erma then quickly thrust itself towards the three, picking them all up in one fell swoop. Keronin and Chuck were held in the purple arms of the pokemon, while Hoarder was held in the left foot. With another horrific scream, the creature closed its eyes and floated using psychic energy, forcing itself out of the underground tunnel and into the grassy plain above it. The four landed on the floor softly, the splice falling to the ground in exhaustion.

_No more fighting for now. _The creature glowed a white colour, healing all the wounds on its body. _We have done enough._

The three then lay on the grassy plain, seeing nothing threatening, and fell asleep as the world underneath started to fall apart.


End file.
